Yuen-Chan
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SpaceX yesterday launched its fifth Starship test flight from Texas and returned the rocket's towering first stage booster back to land for the first time, achieving a novel recovery method involving large metal arms.
The rocket's Super Heavy first stage booster lifted off at 7:25am CT (1225 GMT) from SpaceX's Boca Chica, Texas launch facilities, sending the second stage Starship rocket on a path in space bound for the Indian Ocean west of Australia, where it will attempt atmospheric reentry followed by a water landing.
The Super Heavy booster, after separating from the Starship booster some 74km (46 miles) in altitude, returned to the same area from which it was launched to make its landing attempt, aided by two robotic arms attached to the launch tower.
"The tower has caught the rocket!!" SpaceX founder Elon Musk posted on X.
Nasa is keenly awaiting a modified version of Starship to act as a lander vehicle for crewed flights to the Moon under the Artemis programme later this decade.
The rocket's Super Heavy first stage booster lifted off at 7:25am CT (1225 GMT) from SpaceX's Boca Chica, Texas launch facilities, sending the second stage Starship rocket on a path in space bound for the Indian Ocean west of Australia, where it will attempt atmospheric reentry followed by a water landing.
The Super Heavy booster, after separating from the Starship booster some 74km (46 miles) in altitude, returned to the same area from which it was launched to make its landing attempt, aided by two robotic arms attached to the launch tower.
"The tower has caught the rocket!!" SpaceX founder Elon Musk posted on X.
Nasa is keenly awaiting a modified version of Starship to act as a lander vehicle for crewed flights to the Moon under the Artemis programme later this decade.